Bag

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a bag, and more particularly to a bag for carrying bottles, cups and other liquid containers. We describe a bag manufactured of a recyclable material, comprising an insert comprising at least one container-receiving aperture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a bag, and more particularly to a bagfor carrying bottles, cups and other liquid containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the present invention provides an insert for a bag,the insert comprising at least one container-receiving aperture.

Preferably, the insert is of a foldable construction.

Suitably, the insert comprises a central platform from which a pair ofsubstantially parallel side-walls extend downwardly.

Preferably, the insert is affixable to an inner wall of the bag,suitably by means of an adhesive or adhesive tape. More preferably, theinsert is affixable, by only one of its side-walls, to an inner wall ofthe bag, enabling the insert to be folded flat against the bag.

Preferably, a lower edge of an unfixed side-wall is restable, in use,against the base of a bag in which the insert is fitted. Optionally, theinsert further comprises at least one strengthening shelf which spansthe side-walls intermediate upper and lower edges thereof.

In one embodiment, the at least one container-receiving aperture is agenerally circular cut-out region through which a container, such as abottle or cup is insertable.

In an alternative embodiment, the aperture comprises a generallycircular partially cut-out region comprising a plurality of deformableflaps.

In a second aspect, there is provided a bag manufactured of a recyclablematerial, further comprising an insert as described above.

Suitably, the bag is a paper bag or a bag manufactured from lightweightcard.

Preferably, the bag and insert are collapsible for storage ortransportation.

Suitably, the bag is sized to carry two containers and the insertcomprises two container-receiving apertures accordingly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects of the present invention will now bedescribed in further detail, by way of example only, with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a bag in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an insert inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in which theinsert is partially retracted;

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an insert inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of a bag with an insert according to asecond embodiment of the present invention in which the insert ispartially retracted; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of a bag with insert according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention in which the insert is fullydeployed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1 there is shown a collapsible paper bag 10,having a body portion 11 and a pair of handles 12. Housed within the bag10 is an insert 13 of a flattened, generally inverted ‘U-shaped’cross-section. As more clearly seen in FIG. 2, the insert 13 is formedfrom a central platform 14, from which a pair of substantially parallelside-walls 15 extend downwardly. In an assembled configuration in whichthe insert is correctly located within a bag, the bottom edges 22 of theside-walls 15 rest upon the base 23 of the bag such that the insert 13is ‘self-supporting’ within the bag 10. However, in preferredembodiments one of the side-walls 15 is fixed to a correspondinglyadjacent inner side-wall of the bag (discussed below in relation to FIG.3).

The central portion 14 of insert 13 comprises at least onecontainer-receiving aperture in the form of circular cut-out regions 20,through which bottles, cups or other such containers may be passed, inuse. The cut-out regions 20 are dimensioned appropriate to theparticular containers for which the bag is designed to accommodate. Inparticular, the cut-out regions 20 are dimensioned to allow anappropriately sized bottle or container (not shown) to be passedtherethrough, such that the base of the bottle or container rests on thebase 23 of the bag 10, and the container sides are supported by thecentral platform 14 immediately adjacent the relevant cut-out region 20.This arrangement helps to keep such placed containers in an uprightposition during portage.

As shown in FIG. 3, an insert 13 is fixed to a single wall of the bag toenable the bag fitted with the insert 13 to be easily collapsed forstorage. In preferred embodiments the insert 13 is fixed by gluing. Anadditional benefit of this arrangement is that the insert can be foldedagainst the bag side-wall when the bag is required for conventionalcarrying purposes in which bottles or containers are not required to becarried.

FIG. 4 illustrates a bag 10 with insert 13 in a deployed position.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show a second, alternative, embodiment of an insert 13′ inwhich the insert is formed from a first central platform 14′, from whicha pair of substantially parallel side-walls 15′ extend downwardly, and asecond central platform in the form of shelf 21, which spans theside-walls 15′ intermediate the upper and lower edges thereof, 22, 24respectively.

Additionally, the cut-out regions 20 may further include a plurality ofbottle or container engaging flaps (not shown). The flaps allow acontainer to be inserted therethrough, and grip the container soinserted around its body. The flaps also act to prevent adjacentlyplaced containers from knocking against each other when the carrier isin use. Each flap is formed from by a fold line located around thecircular container receiving region and two cut lines which radiallyproject towards the centre of the circular container receiving region,to form a series of substantially triangular hinged flaps.

Although described above with respect to a bag for carrying twocontainers (FIGS. 1 to 4), such as bottles of wine, the bag of thepresent invention is applicable to carrying any number of containers,subject to the weight-carrying constraints of the material from whichthe bag is constructed. For example, the bag could carry three, four ormore bottles in a 1×3, 1×4, 2×2, 2×3 or 2×4 configuration, as willreadily be apparent to the skilled person.

The bag and insert may, optionally, be formed from paper or cardmaterial having excellent wet tear strength properties. The simplicityof the bag and insert design allows rapid and cheap production byconventional methods and produces a bag which can be stored flat andassembled in minimum time.

In the expanded configuration, as best seen in FIG. 1, the bag 10 iscapable of receiving and accommodating a number of bottles, such as wineor beer bottles or other containers for liquids, such as cups of tea orcoffee. Bags according to this invention allow a user comfortably andsafely to carry a number of such items, and are particularly suitable tofood outlets in which both food and drinks items are purchasedsimultaneously. A bag according to this invention allows the user tosecurely and stably carry drinks containers without the risk of themdamaging other items, such as food. Additionally, due to the highspecification of the material from which the bags are preferablyconstructed, the bags can be reused a number of times.

As may be seen, therefore, the present invention provides numerousadvantages. It may be assembled easily and inexpensively, and is capableof accommodating beverage containers of a range of different sizes andshapes. A bag and insert of the present invention can be opened fromflat, in a simple one-handed operation by a flick of the wrist andaccordingly helps to speed-up service times.

1. An insert for a bag, the insert comprising at least onecontainer-receiving aperture.
 2. An insert as claimed in claim 1,wherein the insert is of a foldable construction.
 3. An insert asclaimed in claim 1, comprising a central platform from which a pair ofsubstantially parallel side-walls extend downwardly.
 4. An insert asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the insert is affixable to an inner wall ofthe bag.
 5. An insert as claimed in claim 4, wherein the insert isaffixable by means of an adhesive or adhesive tape.
 6. An insert asclaimed in claim 4, wherein the insert is affixable, by only one of itsside-walls, to an inner wall of the bag, enabling the insert to befolded flat against the interior of the bag.
 7. An insert as claimed inclaim 6, wherein a lower edge of an unfixed side-wall is restable, inuse, against the base of a bag in which the insert is fitted.
 8. Aninsert as claimed in claim 3, wherein the insert further comprises atleast one strengthening shelf which spans the side-walls intermediateupper and lower edges thereof.
 9. An insert as claimed in claim 1,wherein the at least one container-receiving aperture is a generallycircular cut-out region through which a container, such as a bottle orcup is insertable.
 10. An insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein the atleast one container-receiving aperture comprises a generally circularpartially cut-out region comprising a plurality of deformable flaps. 11.A bag manufactured of a recyclable material, comprising an insert asclaimed in any one of the preceding claims.
 12. A bag as claimed inclaim 11, wherein the bag is a paper bag or a bag manufactured fromlightweight card.
 13. A bag as claimed in claim 11, wherein the bag andinsert are collapsible for storage or transportation.
 14. A bag asclaimed in claim 11, wherein the bag is sized to carry two containersand the insert comprises two container-receiving apertures accordingly.